The NYT announces the 10 best books of 2024. Reese Witherspoon selects City of Night Birds by Juhea Kim for her December book club. The Last One by Rachel Howzell Hall is GMA’s pick. Target’s pick is Roland Rogers Isn’t Dead Yet by Samantha Allen. Liza Minnelli’s forthcoming memoir, due out in 2026, will be adapted for television. Peter Mackay has been named Scotland’s national poet, and Kate Beaton wins the Jan Michalski Prize for Literature. Marian Keyes’s “Walsh Sisters” books will be adapted for TV in Ireland and the UK. Plus, Oxford University Press selects “brain rot” as its word of the year.

Brandon Sanderson’s Wind and Truth leads holds this week. People’s book of the week is Trial by Ambush: Murder, Injustice, and the Truth About the Case of Barbara Graham by Marcia Clark. Jon Ransom wins the Polari Book Prize. LJ's Best Books 2024 arrives, NYT names 100 Notable Books of 2024, and NPR releases their 2024 Books We Love. Costco announces it will stop selling books year-round in stores. Plus, LJ’s December starred reviews.

On November 19, the Urban Libraries Council (ULC) released a report presenting the results of its 2024 Library Insights Survey, which charts the successes and challenges North American public libraries have seen in service to their communities since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Takeaways included a steady increase in attendance since the lows of 2022, with some notable differences in how libraries are being used.

One painful part of living through the pandemic for me was the sense that Americans were failing one another. Recent catastrophic weather events have brought back that same sense of unease. When deadly Hurricanes Helene and Milton made landfall last month, conspiracy theorists suggested they were manufactured for political benefit. Federal relief efforts were stymied by online misinformation, and a man was arrested for threatening FEMA workers. America, we’re not okay.

Washington Post shares its 10 best books of 2024. Alice Loxton’s Eighteen: A History of Britain in 18 Young Lives is Blackwell’s Book of the Year. Sally Rooney’s Intermezzo is named Foyles Book of the Year. The Racket: On Tour with Tennis’s Golden Generation—and the Other 99% by Conor Niland wins the William Hill Sports Book Award. Lexington: The Extraordinary Life and Turbulent Times of America’s Legendary Racehorse by Kim Wickens wins the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award. Winners of the James Berry Poetry Prize and the shortlist for the Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title of the Year are also announced. Plus, Page to Screen.

When thinking of how to best sum up this year’s Charleston Conference, held November 11–15 and available to view online December 9–13 (along with exclusive “online only” sessions), one word sprung to mind: collaboration. As a first-time attendee from a publishing technology background, it was wonderful to see so many professionals from the worlds of libraries and publishing come together to tackle challenges that are affecting the entire information industry.

The National Book Awards winners are announced: Percival Everett’s James in fiction, Yáng Shuāng-zi’s Taiwan Travelogue in translated literature, Lena Khalaf Tuffaha’s Something About Living in poetry, and Jason De León’s Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling in nonfiction. Washington Post publishes its lists of the best books of 2024. Plus, new title bestsellers and interviews with Sergio de la Pava, Glory Edim, and Ruben Reyes Jr.

As libraries face increasingly challenging funding landscapes, a key to securing public support lies in mobilizing a coalition of foundation donors, Friends members, and board volunteers. Successful advocacy campaigns happen when these key stakeholders unite behind the library’s mission, reinforcing its value and amplifying its message to decision-makers. To that end, library directors can use several types of advocacy to strengthen their budget campaigns, including community-driven advocacy, public-private partnerships, and the concept of advocacy through fundraising.

Richard Flanagan wins the Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction for his memoir Question 7 but refuses the £50,000 cash award over the sponsor’s ties to fossil fuel. Colm Tóibín’s Long Island is named Waterstones Irish Book of the Year. The Christy Award winners are announced. LibraryReads and LJ offer read-alikes for Now or Never by Janet Evanovich, the top holds title of the week. Agents and authors react to Harper Collins’s AI deal. Microsoft launches a new publishing imprint. Plus, the winners of the 75th Annual National Book Awards will be announced tonight.